Welcome to Wednesday, and the newest version of “Unriddled”: the HubSpot Advertising and marketing Weblog’s mid-week digest of the tech information you should know.

Sorry we missed you final week — we have been in Washington, D.C. for Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional hearings. (Really feel like catching up? Take a look at our protection right here.)

This week, we proceed to wade by means of the very crowded pool of tech information objects that can assist you decrypt what’s taking place on this huge, usually complicated sector. And consider it or not: As soon as once more, it is not all about Fb this week.

It is our Wednesday tech information roundup, and we’re breaking it down.

Unriddled: The Tech Information You Want

1. Apple May Be Launching a Subscription Information Service

Lower than a month after Google introduced its “Subscribe With Google” service for information publishers, Bloomberg is reporting that Apple may very well be launching its personal subscription information service.

The story follows Apple’s March acquisition of Texture: a digital journal app by means of which customers can subscribe to a number of greater than 200 magazines for a flat charge of $9.99 a month. Whereas this instrument may sound acquainted, its mannequin is definitely totally different from Apple’s discontinued Newsstand app, which offered a central place for iOS customers to individually subscribe to and browse content material from a variety of publications.

Now, the iPhone producer presents what’s seeking to be the extra simplified Apple Information, which aggregates information tales from publishers given consumer chooses to comply with in a single place. And paired with the Texture acquisition, some are predicting that Apple might launch its personal information subscription service modeled after Texture.

Supply: Apple

Quite than offering a central place the place customers can individually subscribe to a variety of shops, it appears, Apple may very well be transferring within the course of providing an authentic flat-rate subscription service that permits customers to entry limitless content material from the publications provided on this platform. These publishers would obtain a reduce of the subscription income.

Bloomberg stories that this new mannequin might launch inside the subsequent 12 months.

It comes on the heels of Google’s personal announcement that will probably be constructing a information subscription mannequin of its personal, although it differs from Apple’s anticipated service in just a few methods.

As an alternative of offering an aggregation app the place customers can subscribe to content material from a variety of shops for a single, month-to-month charge, Google says it is working to make it simpler for customers to handle and pay for particular person subscriptions by means of their Google accounts. That manner, they’ll learn premium content material throughout any machine on which they’re signed into Google, with out having to get by means of a paywall each time they click on to learn articles.

As for publishers, Google says, this new characteristic will assist provide them with higher analytics and instruments to establish and convert potential subscribers.

Supply: Google

2. Twitter’s Large Push for Reside Video

For those who’ve just lately opened the Twitter app throughout a significant occasion — like final week’s Congressional hearings with Mark Zuckerberg, for instance — you might need seen the choice to look at it dwell proper from the app.

After Digiday reporter Kerry Flynn tweeted the invention of this characteristic, Matt Navarra (previously of TheNextWeb) famous that Twitter is perhaps experimenting with the show of a dwell video “carousel” front-and-center of the app.

Twitter is now highlighting dwell movies on the prime of your House tab in a carousel https://t.co/8HA0lhQJKu

As Flynn famous, it is considerably paying homage to the earliest days of Fb Reside, when the social community wished to ensure customers have been conscious of the characteristic by visually selling dwell video content material inside the app.

However for Twitter, it has extra to do with the promotion of Periscope: the dwell video streaming app that Twitter acquired in 2015. However since then, regardless of its finest efforts, Twitter’s dwell video capabilities — together with the Periscope branding — may very well be described as lackluster. Different platforms usually took the highlight for dwell streaming, together with Fb and YouTube Reside, with Twitter generally serving as an afterthought for watching occasions in actual time.

That is not for an absence of promotional efforts by Twitter, as is well-known by those that obtain its frequent electronic mail notifications of dwell sporting occasions that will probably be streamed on the community. On its weblog, too, Twitter usually tries to play up the expertise of a dwell occasion (such because the Academy Awards) on its platform.

However what Flynn recognized because the “cell integration” of those capabilities remains to be considerably new — and its success is to be decided.

three. A New QR Code Characteristic for Fb Web page Admins

In late March, rumors emerged that Instagram was testing a characteristic much like Snapchat’s Snapcodes characteristic, which permits customers to scan codes to search out profiles or content material on the app. Instagram’s model was rumored to be known as Nametag, and would give content material creators an identical methodology of discoverability by letting potential followers scan a visible QR-like code (on print or different supplies) that might result in their profiles.

Now, it seems that Fb has rolled out such a characteristic — first found by laptop scientist Jane Manchun Wong — for Web page directors, who can now print a QR code for followers to both Just like the Web page, verify in to its bodily location, or take motion on a proposal.

It additionally comes with insights that may assist admins observe what number of occasions the QR Code has been scanned — although it is not clear if any additional analytics are offered past scans.

Nametag is but to be confirmed (although Instagram did roll out a brand new “Focus” setting inside its Tales service final week), and its launch may very well be contingent on the success of Web page QR Codes.

four. And Now: Canines in Sluggish Movement

Okay, so this merchandise is not precisely hard-hitting information — however it’s lovely. And within the midst of tales about knowledge leaks and competitors, generally, the temper requires a slow-motion video of a canine drying itself off after a swim.

That is what websites like The Dodo and BuzzFeed have usually been used for — and now, each manufacturers have partnered to create content material selling the Tremendous Sluggish-mo options out there on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ cell gadgets.

“Partnering with BuzzFeed and The Dodo is a pure match,” mentioned Younghee Lee, CMO and Govt Vice President of Samsung Electronics in a press release, “and a good way to showcase how shoppers could make on a regular basis moments epic by utilizing the Galaxy S9 and S9+’s Tremendous Sluggish-mo digital camera.”

Past that, the story actually speaks for itself — so with out additional ado, this is that video.

What Else Is Going Down in Tech City?

Extra of the Newest From Fb

With 10 hours of testimony behind us, it was understandably arduous to maintain tabs on final week’s Congressional hearings with Mark Zuckerberg. Fortunately, we recapped every day of the proceedings — in addition to an summary of what we nonetheless need to know.

On Tuesday, Zuckerberg testified earlier than a joint listening to held by the Senate Judiciary and Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committees, the place there have been some key, recurring themes among the many lawmakers’ many (and infrequently repetitive) questions. Learn full story >>

At Wednesday’s listening to earlier than the Home Power and Commerce Committee, the questions have been a bit more difficult for Zuckerberg to reply and barely extra detailed in nature. That may have been the results of inquiries from Home lawmakers that characterize extra area of interest constituencies — or just the byproduct of higher preparation. Learn full story >>

And even after 10 hours of hearings, there have been nonetheless issues left largely unanswered by Zuckerberg and Fb alike. Wired counted 43 excellent objects on which Zuckerberg promised lawmakers solutions at a later date, and since then, Fb has solely publicly commented on one merchandise intimately: the way it collects knowledge on searching conduct outdoors of the community. By the tip of the week, this is what we nonetheless wished to know. Learn full story >>

In the meantime, Fb additionally launched a press release earlier this morning define among the steps it is taking towards GDPR compliance.Learn full story >>

That’s all for immediately. Till subsequent week, be at liberty to weigh in on Twitter to ask us your tech information questions, or to tell us what sort of occasions and subjects you need us to cowl.